This Saturday’s UFC 117 rematch between welterweight contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves will serve as a title eliminator bout. UFC President Dana White confirmed the news today and stated that the winner will face either Georges “Rush” St. Pierre or Josh Koscheck.
Fitch won the pair’s first meeting in June of 2006 by stopping Alves with an upkick and follow-up punches. Both fighters are undefeated since that time, save for five-round decision losses to reigning champion St. Pierre. Alves has not competed since the St. Pierre title fight at UFC 100 last July.
With ten days to go until the inaugural Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament, the promotion has finalised the event’s preliminary reserve bout. Highly-touted Gracie Academy prospect Colleen Schneider will face fellow Californian Liz Carmouche. Both will make their Strikeforce debuts.
With just six fights to his name, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has already done the improbable and now assumes the top spot in the heavyweight divisional rankings. Lesnar rallied to submit Shane Carwin at UFC 116 to solidify his status as the top heavyweight in the sport.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its second appearance on the Versus network tonight with “UFC On Versus 2” from the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The card was headlined by light heavyweight star Jon “Bones” Jones taking on Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko.
After a rollercoaster of uncertainty, Brazil’s Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm has secured a visa in time to compete in the August 13th Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament. Sherdog.com first reported on the update and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the news with MMARising.com.
One week after successfully defending her title in Everett, Washington, Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman is already hard at work and preparing for her next fight. The undefeated knockout artist defeated Roxanne Modafferi via powerbomb slam in the co-main event at Strikeforce Challengers 9, but now aims to step up to the bigger cards.
Jewels kicked off its inaugural Lightweight (115-Pound) Queen Grand Prix today at Jewels: “Ninth Ring” with a card filled with submission finishes. In the main event, Sakura Nomura kept her unbeaten record intact when she upset promotional postergirl Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka.
After a planned August 21st bout with Shana “Rock Solid” Olsen was cancelled earlier this week, the next fight for Erin “Steel” Toughill is unlikely to be contested inside a Strikeforce cage. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the news with MMARising.com earlier this evening.